Home NYC Teams New York Jets

New York Jets: 3-4 Or 4-3, Either Muhammad Wilkerson Or Sheldon Richardson Has To Go

Financially Responsible Across The Entire Depth Chart

The one devilish phrase among NFL circles other than “franchise quarterback” is “salary cap.”

If money is the root of all evil among humans walking planet Earth, the salary cap is the equivalent in professional football.

And no, the Mike Maccagnans of the world don’t get to work with a soft-salary cap like Phil Jackson does in the NBA. His cap is hard, with a ceiling and a basement.

Paying three defensive ends in a 3-4, or three defensive tackles in a 4-3 (as Wilkerson, Richardson and Williams would all be in such a base package), just doesn’t make sense under this wicked NFL salary cap.

It would be almost impossible to hand out huge contracts to all three guys and keep the rest of the roster up to snuff.

The only reason they’re getting away with it now is because Richardson’s deal is quite manageable at a little over $2.5 million per season.

With Williams coming into his second year ($4.657 million per year), and Big Mo now franchise for 2016 ($15.701 million), the money becomes very scarce at other positions.

This is part of the reason they have virtually nothing under the cap right now and struggle to find money for their starting quarterback. (His name is Ryan Fitzpatrick, just in case you were wondering.)

Forget paying three of these guys, it’ll be tough to be positionally responsible if they hand out two long-term deals to interior defensive lineman.

Add onto the fact only two of these guys see the field at once – or should see the field at once in a perfect world – the picture become that much clearer.

1
2
3
4
5
Robby Sabo is a co-founder, CEO and credentialed New York Jets content creator for Jets X-Factor - Jet X, which includes Sabo's Sessions (in-depth film breakdowns) and Sabo with the Jets. Host: Underdog Jets Podcast with Wayne Chrebet and Sabo Radio. Member: Pro Football Writers of America. Coach: Port Jervis (NY) High School. Washed up strong safety and 400M runner. SEO: XL Media. Founder: Elite Sports NY - ESNY (Sold in 2020). SEO: XL Media. Email: robby.sabo[at]jetsxfactor.com